Tag: tucson artist

interview: krysta + joel of TOPAZ

October 25, 2012 |

OK. This might just be me, but y’know those sort of projects—be they restaurants, artistic creations, street festivals, zombie poodles, what have you—that make you think, Wow, who the hell was cool (or crazy) enough not only to come up with this idea but actually pull it off?  Now, I’m not claiming they’re up there with Calexico or equals to Christo and Jeanne-Claude (yet) or that they’re half as genius as whoever discovered that putting Mentos in Diet Coke makes the whole thing explode, but Krysta and Joel—the couple behind Topaz—are pretty damn awesome.

(Photo credit: http://www.topaz-tundra.com/sample-page/)

In case you haven’t stumbled across it yet, Topaz is the unassuming-yet-totally-rad arts venue situated on a bare stretch of St. Mary’s Road just east of the freeway. I covered one of Topaz’s shows a while back, and earlier that same day I was lucky enough to get to sit down with Krysta and Joel for an interview. I was curious to find out what inspired the creation of an arts venue as eclectic and unique as Topaz. How did it all come together? I ask them. Krysta and Joel exchange glances and then Krysta explains, almost sheepishly: “It happened by accident, pretty much.” So the story goes: Krysta was looking for a studio where she could work on her photography, and Joel needed space to store the vintage clothing he collects (and now sells—on Topaz’s second floor, known as Zia Vintage). “It was only once we’d found this particular spot that we realized, Hey, we could do shows here,” says Krysta. “It was very much the physical space itself that inspired us.” As Topaz illustrates in its very existence, a willingness to embrace instability, random strokes of insight, and fortuitous accidents can be a spectacular asset.

They were enthusiastic, but Krysta and Joel weren’t sure what sort of reception Topaz would get in the Tucson arts scene. Accordingly, they were thrilled when they found “a lot of respect, no drama, no pressure,” explains Joel. “If we’d done shows and no one’d come, we would’ve done something different. But there was support from the start,” and lots of people were eager to collaborate.

“We think of Topaz as a creative platform, so we love it when people approach us with ideas. We don’t have an overarching vision,” Krysta explains. “Or, rather, our vision is open-ended.” Topaz is primarily a music venue at the present moment (with 100% of profits going to the bands they host), but Krysta and Joel foresee an expansion into more polished art shows, poetry readings, literary events, and film screenings, among other projects.

So if you’re one of the many people in Tucson who would love to see the art scene of this city thrive, check out Topaz. It’s one of those crazy/cool ideas come to fruition that can inspire and enrich us all. And don’t forget to check the Zocalo Hannah blog for more Topaz updates—I’ll be keeping them on my radar, for sure!

Print to Artifact

October 1, 2012 |

Nick Georgiou is a friendly, outgoing Tucson artist whose rapid-fire commentary on his art is punctuated with wide grins. He recycles old books and newspapers to create unique sculptural forms that have a surprisingly dark theme given the sunny nature of the artist.

Georgiou’s artwork is “literally a reflection of what is going on around us,” he says, because the sculptures are made from the news of the day. Since the news is often bleak, Georgiou makes clear that, “You have to be courageous to be an artist because art is very revealing. Modern art is a mirror to what is happening now in the world.”

“My work is print-to-artifact. I want to give new meaning and new life to the printed word.” He sees the contemporary world in a state of “transition and upheaval.” These days he’s working on the upheaval caused by the tangible print world giving way to the digital world – a world which he says has revolutionized everything, even how we interact with each other.

Georgiou views some of his works as “beautiful and delicate” and others as “aggressive.” He laughs and shrugs his shoulders. “Some of the sculptures ask me ‘Why did you bring me into life?’” He points out that the eyes of the faces in his sculptures are not open. “The eyes are fossilized. This makes you turn back and reflect on yourself” when looking at those eyes, he says.

Georgiou is a native of New York City, and a graduate of New York Universities’ Tisch School of the Arts. He has lived in Tucson for four years. He was in New York City only a few blocks from the World Trade Center when it was attacked on September 11, 2001.  The events of 9/11 pushed him to make sense of what was happening around him.  “The city was full of fear and paranoia then. The conversation was really dark.”  Soon after, he began making his sculptures from recycled newspapers. He literally began turning the news about the terrorist attacks into art.

Next Georgiou placed his new three-dimensional animal-form sculptures in front of the New York Times building to photograph them as public art. This attracted the attention of the authorities at a time when everyone was cautioned to, “See Something. Say Something.”  Eventually Georgiou was able to convince the police that he was not scouting potential sites for terrorism.  Today he puts his sculptures in public places in Tucson. He likes it that in Tucson, people passing by will actually stop and interact with the sculptures.

Georgiou came to Tucson four years ago for a temporary gig as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Arizona. He arrived early to make art from Tucson books and newspapers, and rented a studio space in Citizens Warehouse on 6th Street. He never left. He describes Tucson as “magical,” and a “blessing.” But the moment he knew he had fallen “deeply in love with Tucson” (his words) was when he stood on the roof above his studio, and watched his first All Souls Procession unfold in the streets below. “Amazing, just amazing,” he remembers.

Georgiou thinks that books and papers will continue to exist, but most information will be in digital form. He points out that he can store hundreds of books on his iPad.  He grins again. “The story never changes. The vehicle changes.”

Georgiou has shown his work at Davis Dominguez, Etherton Gallery, and Rocket Gallery in Tucson. In October, he will show work at Obsidian Gallery, and in the Tucson Open Studio Tour in November.

Learn more about Nick at http://myhumancomputer.blogspot.com/